Internationalizing Chinese universities:
challenges and opportunities
Dr. Daibo Chen
(East China University of Political
Science and Law, China/University of
York, UK)
Content
There are 2 parts to this presentation:
Part 1: I will describe some historical
trends regarding internationalization in
Chinese higher education
Part 2: I will describe current attempts to
achieve ‘Internationalization at home’
Background
The development of the Chinese economy means that
internationalization is becoming increasingly important to
Chinese universities.
459,800 Chinese students went to study abroad in 2014.
356,499 international students from 200 countries were
studying in Chinese institutions of higher education in
2013.
There are many collaborations between Chinese and other
universities.
Part 1: The history of internationalization
in Chinese higher education
• There is no generally accepted definition of
internationalization in higher education in China.
• We have to explore the meaning of the concept of
internationalization by referring to the historical
trends in Chinese higher education.
Historical trends regarding internationalization in
Chinese higher education
• Before 1949: learning from the West
• 1950-1965: learning from the Soviet
Union
• 1978-2010: learning from Western
developed countries
• From 2010: the Chinese approach to
internationalization
Before 1949: learning from the west
• The first modern university was founded by Americans in 1879 in
Shanghai. This was called Saint John’s University.
• There were 3 kinds of universities in China before 1949: national
university, private university, church-funded university.
Chinese national and private universities were constituted
according to the model of western universities, but also
included some localized features.
Church-funded universities transplanted the western system
to China.
Shanghai Saint John’s University(1879-1952) is an
example of an early attempt at internationalization
• Saint John’s University was praised as eastern Harvard,
the cradle of diplomats. Its golden age was during the years
1906-1925.
• The university was constituted according to the US
university system, and was registered in America. The
President and most teachers were Americans or had
graduated from America, the teaching language was
English (except for Chinese language and culture courses
from 1896).
• There were, after 1926, conflicts between the University
and the Chinese government and it was finally closed in
1952.
(Xiong, 2007)
1950-1965: learning from
the Soviet Union
Mao Zedong urged the Chinese people to learn from
foreign countries.
• University management structures were based on Russian
models
• Professors were invited from the Soviet Union to be consultants.
• Russian was promoted as the principal foreign language
• More than 10,000 students were sent to the Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe.
1978-2010: to learn from western
developed countries
• Deng Xiaoping urged Chinese universities to learn from
those who had advanced knowledge
• Most Chinese students chose to study in developed
countries.
• Dozens of Chinese universities regarded Harvard, Oxford
and other similar institutions as their model of world-class
universities.
• Courses were reformed according to the practices of
universities in the US, UK and other developed countries.
Destination countries of nationally
funded studying abroad 1978-1980
Percent by destination countries in 1978-1980
40.00%
35.00%
30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
USA
UK
France
Germany
Canada
Japan
Percent by destination countries in 2007
Source: Miao Danguo & Yang Xiaojing, 2010
Other
Destination countries of nationally
funded students studying abroad in 2007
Percent by destination countries in 2007
45.00%
40.00%
35.00%
30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
USA
UK
Ausralia
Germany
Canada
销售额
Source: Su Yan, 2010
Japan
Other
Intentional destination countries of those
students studying abroad in 2015
Percent of studying intention abroad in 2015
30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
USA
UK
Ausralia
Canada
Germany
销售额
Source: Qide Education Group Cooperation, 2015
Japan
Other
International vision
and Chinese Road
The simple assumption that
Internationalization=Westernization=Americanization is being
reconsidered by Chinese scholars.
Professor Zhou Yuanqing, President of the China Association of
Higher Education has said that internationalization may be achieved
by a global vision and walking along a Chinese road (2010) .
Professor Pan Mengyuan (a widely respected leading scholar)
declared that internationalization should have a national
character to avoid westernization and colonialization (2009).
The National Education Development Plan (20102020)
Current education policy strongly emphasizes
internationalization. The key goals are to:
enhance international exchange and co-operation
introduce high quality educational resources
cultivate internationalized talents (i.e., develop
international vision; understand international
rules; develop the skills to take part in
international affairs and competition)
The conclusion to Part 1 of this presentation (the history of
internationalization in Chinese higher education)
 The process of internationalization in Chinese
higher education is still developing
 The goal is for Chinese universities to be world
class
 The role of exchange and collaboration with other
countries is likely to continue to be very important
 There is an increasing emphasis on developing a
distinctly Chinese approach to internationalization
Part 2: The current policy of
‘internationalization at home’
Challenges of internationalizing Chinese universities
 Many good students cannot study abroad due to various obstacles (e.g., high
fees).
 Increasing numbers of Chinese students (especially masters students) who
have studied abroad find it difficult to secure jobs.
 The satisfaction rate of international students in China is not high. Chinese
universities have not found effective approaches to improve international
students’ Chinese language skills.
 English-only teaching and bilingual teaching are not always successful in
efforts to internationalize Chinese students
 It is difficult to improve on-campus interactions between international and
home students.
 Very few foreign teachers are willing to stay for more than 1 year in China.
 Most Sino-foreign co-operation programs are not high quality, while the fees
for the Chinese campuses of world-class foreign universities are very high.
Current initiatives to internationalize
Chinese universities
To strengthen cross-border internationalization
To achieve ‘internationalization at home’
Strategies for ‘internationalization at home’: an example of the
University of International Business and Economy, Beijing
 Aim: to cultivate internationalized talents at home
 Strategies:
(1)Internationalized majors and other courses
(2)Internationalized teachers (inviting in and sending out)
(3)Internationalized class teaching(bilingual or English-only)
(4)Internationalized textbooks
(5)Internationalized language environment(20% foreigners)
(6)Internationalized practice and short-term learning
(7)Internationalized culture exchanges
(8)Internationalized campus activities
Possible ways to improve
‘internationalization at home’ in Chinese
universities
Teacher education programs focusing on
internationalization may be developed
Bilingual teaching courses may be developed
(especially using MOOCs)
Chinese-Foreign students exchange and double
diplomas may be increased
Methods for strengthening the
internationalization of Chinese teachers
• To employ more PhDs who have graduated from foreign
universities (most universities provide priority to those with
overseas PhD qualifications)
• To send teachers to English-speaking countries to study
teaching in English
• To provide teachers with pedagogical training in world class
universities
• To provide attractive offers to foreign teachers in order to
encourage them to work in China
MOOCs in China
• Since 2013, MOOCs have
become very popular in
Chinese education. Many
MOOCs in China were
available in 2014; most top
Chinese universities are
involved; several MOOCunions have been formed.
19 February, 2015, the website of new
MOOCs by Peking University and Alibaba
online.
A suggestion for bilingual teaching on MOOCs
to improve ‘internationalization at home’
• Every bilingual teaching class on MOOCs should include 2
language versions (taught by two teachers in each home language
– e.g. Chinese and English - on the same content).
• The 2 language-class should ensure that students will understand
the content by using their home language, and will improve their
understanding of another language.
• To guarantee that every student may study in another language,
seminars, assignments and exams in both languages should be
required (the whole process is monitored by computer-recordings).
• Teachers from two countries would have to exchange and
cooperate via the internet to fulfil teaching tasks, discuss content,
organize seminars and prepare to answer questions.
Thank you!